


Big City, Small World

by emthought



Category: Parks and Recreation, The Office (US)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Parks/Office crossover
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-30
Updated: 2017-12-30
Packaged: 2019-02-23 22:55:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13200312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emthought/pseuds/emthought
Summary: / "Oh, no way, I work at the bakery, right across the street," Holly grinned, "Big city, small world." / Parks/Office crossover. Four 20-somethings trying to make it in New York City. Michael/Holly, Ben/Leslie.





	1. Chapter 1

Holly Flax had always been unsure of whether or not she should call herself a morning person. She hated the process of being rudely awaken from her time with the sandman by her alarm, but once she was out of bed and able to keep her eyes open she was a happy camper. When she reached this point she had a routine: yoga, shower, off to open the bakery. More often than not, she liked the feeling of having the whole day’s adventures ahead of her.

She had been working at the bakery almost ever since she’d arrived in New York City. She’d been hired part time but had eventually become the owner’s go-to person and second in command. She liked the job, mostly because of the people. Holly liked making others happy, and baked confections often had that effect on people.

“Morning Hol,” greeted Karen, one of her coworkers said as they were opening. She was sporting her usual cup of coffee.

“Hey,” Holly replied.

“Place across the street has a new barista,” Karen said, smiling, “You know, he’s not bad looking.”

“Really now?” Holly asked, looking at her knowingly, “I thought you, and I quote, had sworn off guys for at least a month because of Jim Halpert.”

“I did. And I stand by that. I’m just saying, sometimes it’s nice to appreciate the visual assets that the male population has to offer, even if, as is the case with at least half of them that I end up involved with, there’s not much else there. Or, like with Jim, they’re really pining after someone else.”

“Oh, Karen,” Holly said sympathetically, “I’m sorry.”

She shrugged, “I just have shit taste is all. In men, at least.”

“I think if you realize what drives you to those types, you’ll eventually find less terrible men.”

“Yeah. Makes sense. Anyway, how are you and AJ?”

“We’re good. It’ll be two years on Friday.”

“Damn love birds,” Karen muttered, but smiled good naturedly. 

00000000

Leslie Knope glanced at her watch as she entered the office’s building. It read 8:55, which meant she had five minutes to spare. She sighed in relief: she had overslept, and she was pretty sure her boss would kill her if she were late.

“Morning Leslie,” Jerry, the company’s receptionist, said.

“Hi Jerry,” Leslie said, forcing a bit of extra cheer in her voice. Jerry reminded her of Eeyore because he was always taking the fun out of everything. He was a bit of a buzz kill, but Leslie tried to be nice to everyone. And she tried to be extra nice to Jerry because she  
figured he really needed it.

“Um, it’s been a bit of a rough morning around here,” Jerry said quietly, nodding toward their bosses office.

“Oh, god, Jerry, I’m sure it’s not bad,” Leslie rolled her eyes, quickly losing her patience with him as she almost always did, “She has her daughter now, don’t babies make all mothers happy?”

The door to the office opened, and an angry woman stepped out.

“Leslie, I need you in my office right now,” she said shortly, “I cannot deal with this level of incompetence on my own.”

“Ok, Jan,” Leslie said, following the furious Jan Levinson back into her office.

00000000

At noon, Holly walked outside for her lunch break, basking in the warm June sun. Spring was her favorite season because of the flowers she planted every year would bloom, but summer was a close second.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt herself bump into someone on the sidewalk.

It was a man that she’d bumped in to, and she’d caused him to drop what she assumed had been his lunch.

“Oh, no,” Holly said, “I’m so sorry – I completely wasn’t paying attention.”

He shrugged, not looking too upset, “I was probably equally preoccupied. No harm done.”

“Oh, but your lunch – there’s a great sandwich shop not too far from here, let me get you something. Make up for being such a spazzy klutz.”

“Well,” the man paused, considering the proposition for a moment, “Alright.”

“Awesome. It’s this way,” she said, taking the lead, “I’m Holly, by the way.”

“Ben.”

00000000

“So, can I make a confession?” Ben asked Holly as they waited for their sandwiches.

“Sure,” Holly replied.

“I would have normally said no to your offer, but…I just moved here, and I don’t have any friends, and you seem nice. Not that I’m coming onto you or anything, I’m sure you’re logical enough not to want to date a total stranger, and so am I, of course, and,” Ben looked like a deer in the headlights, realizing how this all sounded. He shook his head, “Um, I’m just gonna stop talking.”

Holly looked bemused.

“I too, suffer from foot-in-the-mouth syndrome , so I think we’re gonna be pretty good friends. So what brings you to New York?”

“I got a job at that coffee shop back where we were earlier.”

“Oh, no way, I work at the bakery, right across the street,” Holly grinned, “Big city, small world.”

00000000

Michael Scott did five jumping jacks followed by several fist pumps . This was his pre-show routine, and he stuck to it religiously because he figured it would be bad luck to stray from it.

He looked at himself in the mirror. Suit and top hat were in place. 

Without a doubt, he had chosen a profession that allowed him to look good. If he didn’t mesmerize people with his tricks, his good looks and style would certainly do it.

He could hear his assistant Dwight onstage, speaking to the audience. It was almost time for him to go out.

“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls,” he heard Dwight proclaim, “Presenting…Michael the Magic!”

00000000

The brick walls of the bar and grill were filled with people. Holly waited for her friend to arrive, occupying their usual space toward the front.

“Leslie!” Holly grinned when she saw her.

“Hey,” Leslie said as she took a seat, “You would not believe the day I’ve had.”

“Jan wake up on the wrong side of the bed again?” Holly asked knowingly.

Leslie nodded and made a face.

“Ladies,” the bartender, a burly man with a thick mustache, greeted them.

“Hey Ron,” Holly said. 

“Ron, I wanna know who peed in my boss’ cheerios,” Leslie said with a sigh.

“I cannot help you with that, though from what you’ve told me about that woman, many people would be suspect,” Ron said matter-of-factly, “I can, however, get both of you a drink. The usual?”

Leslie and Holly nodded. A few minutes later, he handed them their drinks.

“To the weekend,” Leslie said, “To forty eight hours of uninterrupted bliss.”

She spoke with relish, clearly excited to be off work and for what the usual Friday night tradition of visiting Ron’s bar with her best friend would hold.


	2. Chapter 2

The next Monday, Leslie sat at her desk, staring at her computer idly. Jan had given her a list of customers to call, which she’d finished not too long ago. Typically Jan did this kind of outreach herself– she was much better at wining and dining than Leslie was, even in a verbal sense – but these were the people Jan was convinced didn’t like her.

“I need you to do this for me,” Jan had told her as she’d handed her the list, “You have that sweet, small town way about you. Use it.”

So it had fallen to Leslie, the righter of her boss’ wrongs, to make the calls. All had gone well, and the numerous high faluetent, important clients and businesses were all interested in continuing their relationship with the company. And almost all of them had been interested in the new fall line of products.

It was just another day working for Serenity by Jan, the most successful manufacturer of candles in all of New York City.

Growing up, Leslie had never imagined herself in the candle business, or any sort of _business_ business, really. She’d double majored in political science and history, with a minor in women’s studies.

She was going to change the world.

She’d moved to New York with Holly right after graduation to pursue a job offer as a junior assistant at the governor’s office. But then the governor found himself involved in a scandal and out of office. Leslie had needed a new job, because rent was expensive and the city was a terrifying place to find yourself unemployed, so she’d taken the first thing she found. That was how she’d ended up working for Jan. She told herself that it would be temporary, that she’d get back into politics as soon as she could, but that was six years ago and she’d made her way up the company ladder rather than running for office.

She wanted to get back to pursuing the things she truly loved, but the truth of the matter was she was scared to leave her current position. It was stable, and she wasn’t really sure if she could make it in the political world of New York, anyway. Things were competitive, and she sold candles for a living. She was optimistic, but she was also a realist.

She decided to text Holly. She could use some interaction with someone who was down to earth.

_Bored bored bored bored. Candles still burning. How are the baked goods?_

Leslie’s phone vibrated.

_Warm. Delicious. Kinda want to eat them all myself. How’s Jan?_

_Everything that your baked goods aren’t, but that’s old news._

_Lunch? Can you escape?_

_Lemme try._

** *

Soon after, the two met up at a café between their two places of employment. They ordered and sat down.

“So, the wicked witch of candle land is pretty bad today, huh?” Holly asked.

“Jerry suggested that we start a line for children’s nurseries,” Leslie replied. “Scents like cinnamon teddy bear and orange elephant. She didn’t take it well.”

“Her target audience isn’t kids under age five?” Holly smiled in spite of the situation.

“Oh no, Jerry got a very long lecture about how if he didn’t know our market, he should keep his mouth shut and stick to his receptionist duties,” Leslie said. “But that’s typical Jan. I don’t know why it’s getting to me so much lately. It’s just –”

“What’s up?” Holly was concerned. It wasn’t like Leslie to be at a loss for words.

“When we first moved here, I just thought by six years in I would by at least a little close to making a real difference in the world, at least slightly progressing in my climb up the political ladder,” Leslie said. “But I help a mean-spirited lady sell expensive candles.”

“Don’t be too hard on yourself,” Holly said. “Jan’s one of the biggest businesswomen in the city. Once you get to saving the world, you’ll have gained some useful skills from your time with her.”

“Yeah, you’re right, I guess,” she said, sighing. “So, anything interesting happen at the bakery today?”

“Counseled Karen through her breakup,” Holly replied. “The other day she was angry, today she was sad.”

“That’s rough,” Leslie replied. “Good she has you, though. Ovaries before brovaries.”

“Yeah, she’ll be ok,” Holly said. “Hey, wanna continue our Monty Python marathon after work tonight?”

“I thought you and AJ had a date,” Leslie said.

Holly made a face.

“He canceled,” she said.

“Lame. I’m sorry,” Leslie replied. “But yes, I’m always down for Monty Python. That’ll be good. I can get all of my work craziness out of my head for a bit.”

* * *

“You made my birthday magic!” the young boy told Michael.

Michael was wearing his work uniform: a black suit with a cape and top hat. He had just finished a show for the boy’s birthday party.

“That’s no surprise. It’s why he’s called Michael the Magic,” Dwight explained as he packed up their material.

Michael knelt down.

“Gimme five buddy,” he said, giving the young birthday boy a high five. “Happy birthday,”

A few minutes later, Michael and Dwight had packed the equipment for their show into Dwight’s truck.

“Good show,” Dwight did a first bump as he and Michael got into the vehicle.

“Yeah,” Michael agreed. “That was a nice family.”

“And a good step for us as businessmen,” Dwight replied. “If we keep booking birthday parties as often as we have, we’re going to become the next big thing to hit the city.”

“That’s the dream, Dwight,” Michael said.

* * *

Ben stepped into the bakery. Holly looked up from the tray of cupcakes she was putting out.

“Hey!” she said cheerfully.

He waved.

“I need a sugar fix,” he said. “I figured this was a good place.”

“Oh yeah,” Holly said. “I just finished baking these.”

She gestured to the cupcakes.

“Those look delicious. I’ll take one,” he said. “Hey, thanks again for lunch the other day.”

“No problem,” she replied. “So how’s the unpacking going? Settled into your apartment yet?”

“Slowly but surely,” Ben replied. “I’m not entirely sure about my roommates, though. I saw them eating from a Frisbee, I think.”

“A Frisbee?”

“Yeah, I was going to ask Andy and April what was up, but then I decided drop it and finish unpacking my room,” he said.

“How’d you meet them again?”

“It was a friend of a friend of a friend type thing,” he replied, shrugging. “I didn’t realize they were sons of a silly person.”

“Monty Python!”

“Yeah, I’m impressed you got that. Everyone else just thinks I’m crazy.”

Holly thought for a moment.

“What are you up to tonight?” she asked.

“Nothing too spectacular.”

“My best friend and I are watching Life of Brian. You should come.”

Ben nodded.

“Yeah, ok.”


End file.
